NOTE - Bumped after conversation with Jolla staff, bumping an old thread where the issue is still relevant/active and hasn't been officially answered as an issue Jolla will take up, or has rejected... is permissible as a way of keeping these things alive.

I get the European mandated warning about audio levels whenever I'm connecting to an audio device ... but not all my audio devices are headphones. I mean, I appreciate being given the warning, but I am totally fed up with my volume being knocked down and being faced with the warning every time I connect to something.

I have been caught shouting at the phone, "I get it already!"

I also use high impedance headphones which require extra power. It is not possible for the phone to know how much actual db is being generated at the ear. The entire warning itself is unreasonable and not practical in my opinion.

How about, at the least, a switch in the developer options ... after all, it's perfectly legit to want to not be nagged if you're developing software... right ;-)

Comments

8

I agree, once you have answered the "I understand" prompt it should stop bugging me about it later on. At least, there should be a way to turn the prompt off completely, unless there is some sort of law that prevents from doing just that.

5 Answers

Following the hint from rainisto I edited /etc/pulse/mainvolume-listening-time-notifier.conf (after making a backup obviously) and removed the 'hf' and 'bta2dp' from 'mode-list', leaving 'lineout' there for safety when using wired headphones. I then rebooted (maybe unnecessary) and tested.
Connecting through bluetooth I got no volume warning but using a wire I got the warning (as desired). There is also a timeout that can probably be edited to get longer between warnings but be careful not to go too high or you may exceed the maximum value of whatever variable it gets stored in and break something.

Also please be aware that doing this you remove a safety feature and could damage your hearing. Use common sense and don't blame anyone but yourself.

Please don't close the question as this is just a temporary fix requiring developer mode, and not a permanent solution that's also available to non-technical users.

Thanks Vaskinn - I edited the .conf file but it didn't work at first. I left the comma after 'lineout'.
Removed the comma and all is working, no more crap EU warning! (I don't own headphones anyway), but was fed up with the nag every time I wanted to bluetooth audio to my PC.
Nice work-around! :)

Based on a sound limit of 85 dB considered safe under normal conditions of use.

The user can choose to override the limit so that the sound level can be increased up to maximum 100 dB.

If the user overrides the limit, warnings about the risks must be repeated every 20 hours of listening time.

Transition period ends on 24 January 2013. After this date, industry is expected to apply the standards to their products.

Standards are voluntary. However, conforming products benefit from a presumption of conformity to the safety requirements of the applicable EU legislation on the risk of hearing damage.

CENELEC will now develop "smart" methods for protection against excessive sound levels based on the measurement of sound dose.

It is just interesting how Apple seems to be only mobile music player and phone manufacturer who can read until very last paragraph of the legislation and standards where it is said that all these mandatory warnings are voluntary. That is why you can completely disable the warning in iOS devices when it first time warns you. Standard applied. I wonder how much would have benefit from conformity to the safety requirements compared to current solution where they read the volutary text too.

Standard also defines that it is applicable only to the devices sold with personal head phones as warning level must be (still volutary) adjusted for head phones accompanying with the music player device.

Also when carefully read it can be found that standard does not apply to other sound sources than music. E.g. for phone calls these (still volutary) limitations can be automatically turned off. Those are not either applicable when speaker mode in use or when device is connected to external amplifier, e.g. stereo system with cable or bluetooth or HF car kit.

Similar legislation exist in other countries than in EU area too. However this EU legistation has also one interesting point: It is applicable only to the devices sold AND used in EU. Carry the device out from EU even just temporatily and these mandatory (still voluntary) requirements do not apply.

On Windows Phone handsets you only receive this warning the first time you attach a headset to your phone, and attempt to raise volume over a certain level.

On Jolla, the question could maybe then be asked after every update. For most Jollafarians this anyway would mean, that about once a month you would see the dialogue, which would in my view be more in line with EU's directive than on for eg. afore mentioned platform. But it would be seriously less bugging.

I am almost sure that regulations maybe require the warning to be displayed at least once, but not each and every time the volume is set above the threshold level, and probably not two separate warnings. If that was the case, wouldn't all the smartphones and media players have that? bcs they don't.

I don't believe the regulations are really this strict. it's gotta be a mistake. all the warnings I've seen have a "don't show this again"option, after which you accept full responsibility and the OEM can't be held liable for what you do after that.really we can't have this bugging people always.

For me the bigger issue is not the warning itself (I would be content for the time being just to acknowledge the warning and carry on with my day listening to music), but how often it shows up. If the regulations state it "must be repeated every 20 hours of listening time" as stated by @Penguin, then three times during 90 minutes of continuous listening is obviously too often. (I was first outside, walking and then inside, shopping, so had to adjust volume a couple of times.)

Bumping thread - after conversation with Jolla staff, bumping an old thread where the issue is still relevant/active, is permissible as a way of keeping these things alive.

I will be editing the original text to suggest that the option is included in the developer options, sort of unofficially because surely if you're developing software, you don't want to get nagged all the time while you're working on something... right ;-)